SOUTH African pace bowlers Allan Donald put England on the rack at Newlands yesterday as the tourists began the fifth and deciding Test in disastrous fashion.

Donald lived up to his nickname of White Lightning in front of a 23,500 capacity crowd as he took five wickets for the sixth time in his Test career to help dismiss Mike Atherton's side for 153.

The home side then steadied their innings after a shaky start that saw them lose two wickets for 19, before Gary Kirsten and Daryll Cullinan reached the close on 44 without further damage.

Only Robin Smith, filling England's problematic number three spot, really stood up against the South African attack, scoring 66. Smith's innings was made more meritorious by the fact that he came to the crease with England reeling through the loss of Atherton without a run on the board.

Smith eventually fell to 18 year old wrist spinner Paul Adams. Atherton, Graham Thorpe, Graeme Hick, Dominic Cork and Paul Martin all fell to Donald's pace.

Thorpe and Hick were the key wickets to fall as Donald charged in for his first over after lunch. The left handed Thorpe sparred at a loosener to be caught by Brain McMillan at second slip and two balls later Hick followed, from an almost identical shot to be again snatched up by McMillan at slip.

McMillan had been getting a considerable amount of movement off the seam and it was this which was Alec Stewart's undoing. The England opener got an inside edge onto his stumps and joined his captain in the pavilion for a hearty lunch.

Donald's other victims came from his sheer pace. Cork was the victim of a finely judged yorker and Peter Martin went after taking evasive action to a lifting delivery only to be caught by Hudson.

It was left to young Adams to wrap up the innings in the first Test he has played on his home ground. His first was by far the most important for the South Africans and a memorable one for Adams. He got Smith, who had coped well up to that stage, to chop one back on to his stumps.

Smith was at the crease for just over four hours and hit eight boundaries in a face saving knock. It also looks as if Smith could find himself drafted into the number three position on a more permanent basis.

England hit back in copybook fashion as Andrew Hudson departed, an lbw victim to Cork, in the third ball of the South African innings.

Like Donald, Cork had managed to extract some telling lift and bounce from the Newlands wicket. But it was a perfectly judged in swinging yorker which undid Hansie Cronje for Cork's second wicket. The South African captain, on 12, had survived a confident lbw appeal only to get an edge through to Jack Russell two balls later.

It was Russell's 24th dismissal of the series, bettering Alan Knott's England record in the six Test series against Australia in 1970-71.

At a press conference after the close of play, Donald and Smith engaged in a war of words over the state of the pitch. Donald was adamant that hard work by the South African bowlers - rather than the condition of the wicket - led to England's collapse.

"There is a bit of a turn and a bit of uneven bounce but there are no demons," he said. But Smith argued the pitch was full of cracks and that it would not last the next four days.

"There are cracks at both ends and they were certainly wider when we left the field tonight," he said. "I think South Africa will struggle to make 200. They've won the first round but we've got to pick ourselves up, bowl them out cheaply and then perform very much better in our second innings," said Smith. "I honestly think it would be very difficult to score 170 batting last on this pitch."

Atherton laid the blame for England's bad start on some poor batting: "One or two of our batsmen will be a bit disappointed but South Africa bowled terrifically well," he said. "The pitch was relatively easy paced today but I believe it will quicken up and get much more difficult to bat on. I think it's going to deteriorate quite quickly - the cracks look very much wider tonight than they did eight hours ago."

Not surprisingly, South Africa believe they can build an altogether more substantial advantage - and then beat England after being frustrated twice already this winter when in positions of strength.

"We are sitting pretty at the moment," said Donald. "If we capitulate we've only got ourselves to blame. The destiny of the game is in our hands. There's a bit of uneven bounce but I don't think the pitch favours the bowlers too much. It's very important how you bowl on it - you have to be aggressive."

South African coach Bob Woolmer preferred to delay his verdict. "I would rather see both first innings before I make a judgment," he said. "But I don't think it's a 153 all out pitch."